John Davison Rockefeller, Jr, 1874-1960

Abstract

John Davison Rockefeller, Jr, in his autobiographical sketch in Who's Who in America , with characteristic modesty omitted to state his occupation. Yet as a young man he had chosen a unique career which he pursued with exceptional devotion and effectiveness throughout a long life. The only son of a man of immense wealth, prospective heir to a fortune so large as to be almost unmanageable, the lifework he chose was to carry on and broaden his father’s already extensive philanthropic enterprises and to guide the further disposition of vast sums for the general benefit of mankind. In this career he made his mark in many fields of human activity in the United States and abroad—in art, archaeology, and architecture, the conservation and utilization of natural resources, education, labour relations, natural history, and public health. To the advancement of scientific research he made so great a contribution, not only of money, but also of encouragement and wise direction, that the Royal Society in 1939 elected him to its fellowship as one who, in the words of its Statute 12, had ‘rendered exceptional services to the cause of science’. This singular honour, by which he became a regular F.R.S., rather than a Foreign Member like those professional scientists from outside the British Commonwealth whom the Royal Society admits to its companionship, reflects the international scope of his efforts for the advancement of science through support of its institutions.